Friday, June 22, 2012

I no longer complain about chaotic traffic here in Sao Paulo – I have accepted the fact that it is part of my city and that I have to face it on weekdays. Period. There’s no point in bitching about it – it is what it is. The key to survive it is to try and make those hours a little more pleasurable, and music is a very helpful tool. There is one song I absolutely love and that, for over 10 years now, has been a sort of instant mood enhancer: every time I feel sad or angry (or both), I listen to Phats & Small’s “This Time Around” and it immediately makes me feel better. My good mood anthem. :)

I also keep a small notebook at hand because it seems that traffic jams bring great recipes to my mind – it was on a very rainy and chaotic day that I remembered the peanut butter cake with chocolate glaze from this wonderful book, and now it is here so you can try it too – it is oh, so delicious.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour. Whisk together the yogurt, eggs, and vanilla in a large glass measuring cup. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Combine the butter, peanut butter, and demerara sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.
On low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients in 3 additions with the yogurt mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, scraping the sides of the bowl between additions.
Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat for 1 minute.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until golden and risen and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze: heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate and butter and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth.
Pour the warm glaze over the cake.